Modal and Semi-modal Verbs of Obligation in the Australian, New Zealand and British Hansards, 1901–2015

This chapter investigates changes in the use of the (semi-)modal verbs must, HAVE to, NEED to and should in Australian, New Zealand and British parliamentary records in sampled data from 1901 to 2015. Modal verbs, especially those expressing obligation/necessity, are strong indicators of stance, and therefore helpful in showing how speaker stance has changed over more than a century in the political discourse of the three national varieties. Overall frequencies for each of the (semi-)modals were calculated, as well as proportional frequencies for their combination with first person pronoun subjects. A set of subject nouns representing Government, Members and the Public were also investigated. Results showed British parliamentary discourse to be more conservative than that in either Australia or New Zealand, in the relative preservation of modal use against a declining trend, and later uptake of the incoming semi-modal NEED to. Peaks of (semi-)modal usage appear to coincide with periods of collective responsibility, such as Federation for Australia in 1901, and increased self-reliance for Australia and New Zealand in the 1960s. The expression of stance in interactions between members also modulates over time in each region, with the introduction of broadcasting perhaps influencing the degree of obligation/necessity expressed towards each other, and directed at an external public audience.